A. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a variable metering system for heterogeneous, sensitive and non-pumpable media having a low liquid portion which are preferably ready-to-use foodstuffs.
Metering machines are known in principle from the prior art which perform the relevant metering of bulk goods with the assistance of pushing devices, and convey these bulk goods into appropriate packaging units under the effect of gravity.
B. Related Art
By using such pushing devices (U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,339 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,803 A), loose or granular bulk goods, such as breakfast cereals, are apportioned and supplied for appropriate further processing or to a packaging unit.
There are some problems in the prior art which cannot be solved by the prior art.
Since permanently installed metering chambers are used, cleaning and servicing are always associated with the complete disassembly of the metering machine. Because of these permanently installed metering chambers, the operating process is restricted to one metering setup; because of the design of the machine, it is only possible to meter a specific amount of foodstuffs corresponding to the metering setup in foodstuffs processing operation.
Furthermore, due to the cascading, fully pneumatic design of the systems corresponding to the prior art, a significant amount of pneumatic components can be assumed which constitute sluggish control sections. Besides, in exclusively pneumatic or hydraulic mode, hygienic working conditions and the simplicity of servicing and cleaning are always an issue.